Company says move unrelated to environmental approval delays BP was targeting resources in deep water, hostile environment BP Plc has abandoned oil exploration in the offshore Great Australian Bight , five years after it began searching for resources in one of the world’s last frontier regions and before it could drill a single well. The decision to step away from the project off the country’s southern coast follows a review of the company’s upstream strategy and wasn’t influenced by regulatory delays, the London-based energy producer said in a statement Tuesday. The project won’t be able to compete “in the foreseeable future” for capital investment against other upstream opportunities, according to the statement. BP backs out of drilling in the Great Australian Bight “This decision signals the challenges to frontier deepwater exploration in the current price environment,” said Saul Kavonic, a Perth-based analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. “You are now […]